Please Beware!

Pretty much every week there are articles in the local press informing us of yet more muggings or cases of drugging tourists. Although many people are aware of these incidents, there seems to be something about human nature which makes us think it won't happen to us. Well, here is another story:

Two gentlemen were in Metro Bar last weekend and watched the Tri-Nations final. A good rugby match, especially if you are a Kiwi. Anyway, in the course of Sunday afternoon, one of these gentlemen of 'advancing' years met two ladies in a well-known shopping mall in the centre of Pattaya. The end result of a pleasant chat with the charmers was that the said gentleman woke up several hours later in his hotel room, having been drugged and then robbed.

As is often the case, on entry to his hotel he did not (although at time of writing I am not sure if he was fully aware of his actions at this point) have the hotel staff take their ID cards. Subsequent investigations by the local constabulary, which are on-going, indicate that there is CCTV footage of the ladies concerned. It remains to be seen if this will lead to arrests or not.

What is of concern here is not just the fact that these thieves are active everywhere and at all times of the day and night but that whatever they slipped the elderly gentleman, it more or less knocked him out until the next day although he was sufficiently coherent at one point to raise the alarm! In plain language they don't care what effect the drug has on you or whether you recover or not! Some elderly men might well not be able to survive the ravaging effects of these drugs. Fortunately, in this case the victim's mate is a retired doctor who was able to assess his medical condition pretty quickly.

At the risk of being boring, please be careful. It is unwise to 'pick up' these ladies, no matter how charming they may seem, in shopping malls, multiplexes and entertainment zones where you have no idea where they hail from. For that matter, in many of these places you should never go to the loo leaving your drink on the counter/table. Drink up, go to the loo and order a fresh one when you return.

Back at you hotel, get them to retain her ID. Boring I know but better safe than sorry (and possibly broke). This is not the first person I have known have this happen to them and probably it won't be the last but .... it might stop one man's moment of foolishness!